Woman named ‘Isis’ disputes California DMV over license plate with her name

ORANGEVALE, Calif. — An Orangevale woman is challenging the California DMV after the agency sent her a letter demanding she surrender her personalized license plates.

Isis Wharton, who says she’s named after the Egyptian goddess Isis, applied for and received the license plate “IAMISIS” in 2022. The DMV said its recent letter to Wharton explains why “IAMISIS” can be construed as “I am Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).”

Wharton said the letter demands she surrender the plates or make an appeal by Sept. 25; if she doesn’t file an appeal by that date, the DMV will issue her new plates.

“I was named after the Egyptian goddess, and she’s like the goddess of healing and motherhood, and so it’s much more peaceful than they’re putting it out to be,” Wharton said.

She had the plate picked out in her mind for a long time and typed the text into the DMV website when she applied three years ago, she said.

“They’ll tell you if it’s approved or not, and I know that they do have pretty strict guidelines, so I was super happy that I was able to put my name on there because I know that there is a little bit of controversy,” she said.

It was approved then. Wharton said it should continue to be approved.

“My name was a name thousands of years before the terrorist group,” Wharton said. “…It’s a harmful thing to come after someone’s name, and I think that things like this should be taken into more careful consideration.”

ISIS refers to the “Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham,” according to the U.S. Congress.

The Islamic State grew out of the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI), made up of former al-Qaida elements. Some ISI members traveled to Syria in 2011 to establish a new al-Qaida affiliate, the Nusra Front. In 2013, ISI and the Nusra Front merged to form the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham.

The term “al-Sham” refers to a region stretching from southern Turkey to Egypt and includes Syria, Lebanon, Israel, the Palestinian territories and Jordan, according to the Associated Press.

The standard English term for this broad territory is “the Levant,” therefore the AP’s translation of the group’s name had been the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL.

ISIL rebranded to the “Islamic State” in July 2015, per the AP. Now, it’s largely regarded as the “Islamic State group” to avoid giving the impression that it is a nation.

The group’s stated goal is to restore an Islamic state in the Levant territory.

The DMV is required by law to review all requests for personalized license plates and ensure those approved are permissible under the California Vehicle Code (CVC) and the California Code of Regulations (CCR), the office said.

“The DMV understands that language and symbols can hold different meanings across cultures and communities,” the state agency wrote in a statement. “What may be a term of endearment in one context can be perceived differently in another.”

Most personalized license plate requests are approved, and customers must agree to the terms before ordering a personalized plate, according to the DMV.

Plates may be refused if:

• The configuration has a sexual or scatological meaning,
• The configuration is an expletive or term considered profane or obscene,
• The configuration conveys any kind of message related to the following characteristics of a group of people: race, ethnic or national origin, color, religion, disability, sexual orientation or gender identity,
• The configuration contains fighting words, or refers to illegal or violent acts, including, but not limited to criminal gang affiliation or activity, weapons, genocide, or creates a risk of inciting violence,
• The configuration misrepresents an association with government or law enforcement through any combination of letters or numbers which indicate an affiliation to an agency or to an office or position, including, but not limited to an elected office, employment as a police officer, firefighter, emergency medical technician, paramedic or first responder,
• The configuration is a non-English or slang word or term or is a phonetic spelling or mirror image of a word or term falling into the categories described in the sections above.

“Customers with personalized plate configurations deemed non-compliant by the DMV are entitled to request a hearing before the Office of Administrative Hearings,” the DMV said. “The letter Ms. Wharton received provides information on how to request a hearing.”

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